


New Blood

by iwritetokeepthevoicesquiet



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Bathroom Sex, Bloodhound's Ambiguous Genitals (Apex Legends), Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Casual Sex, Explicit Language, First Meetings, Hand Jobs, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mild Octane/Gibraltar, Mild Octane/Lifeline, Minor Character Death, My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read, Other, Pagan Bloodhound (Apex Legends), Party, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Content, Temporary Character Death, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritetokeepthevoicesquiet/pseuds/iwritetokeepthevoicesquiet
Summary: Octavio Silva has just joined the Apex Games and he's determined to win this Season and become one of the Legends. His friendship with Ajay Che (Lifeline) is strained, the matches excite and terrify him, the Legends are all intriguing and unique, and how exactly does he feel about the mysterious Bloodhound? One thing is for sure: they don't have similar combat styles, but they find other ways to see eye-to-eye.First fic in a looooong time, holy moly.
Relationships: Bloodhound/Octane | Octavio Silva
Comments: 20
Kudos: 43





	1. New piernas, who dis?

**Author's Note:**

> Hallo, I am nervous about posting this because I haven't written in sooooo long. Hopefully you guys like it... I plan on it being about three chapters long, but we'll see. 
> 
> I wasn't going to post until it was finished (because I hate when things are posted then never finished) but I'm determined to finish this and it's not terribly long anyway.
> 
> Apex is like, my favorite game. I hope I've done justice to the characters. Also, in this fic Octane and Bloodhound get together, but they're not my OTP. I view them as a pairing, like, some casual sex between pals. I actually ship Gibraltar and Octane way harder (as I was writing them I was like, just kiss!!), so hopefully we'll see some works with them in the future? 
> 
> Headcanons for Octane/Apex that I have and utilize in my story (some come from shortythescreen and dangerjunkie on tumblr):  
> • He has a GoPro strapped to his chest for matches, his goggles have a chat overlay for his stream  
> • He falls in and out of love very fast and is rarely serious about any of his partners  
> • Octavio does a lot of distracted touching.  
> • He is a fuckboy. Like, a loveable one, but still a fuckboy.  
> • Each Season consists of multiple matches. Sometimes people die, but you're not supposed to purposefully kill them. Leave them alive but incapacitated if possible. New-comers are called New Blood (hence fic name), return players that didn't achieve Legend status are called Veterans, winners and fan favorites are made into Legends. So far we have Bangalore, Bloodhound, Caustic, Gibraltar, Mirage, Pathfinder and Wraith as Legends. 
> 
> Also, anything that is in Spanish or Icelandic is from google translate or similar sources. I apologize if they're inaccurate, doing my best. Feel free to comment corrections if you know them! 
> 
> LASTLY AND IMPORTANTLY!!!! There are not many gender-neutral pet names in Spanish :'( So I have Octavio switch back and froth between masculine and feminine petnames for Bloodhound. I hope that is an acceptable solution to you guys!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: (06/18/2020) Okay so I adjusted Gibraltar from saying Brotha to Bruddah because in this most recent Apex Quest chapter he is clearly written as saying 'Bruddah'. Small thing, but I figured I'd update it.

Octavio jerked awake in the seat, hands fumbling out to push away the cords and IVs. Then he realized he wasn’t in the Hospital anymore… he’d bailed. He slumped back into the seat and looked down at his legs, a mixture of devastation and exhilaration burned in his chest, so he clung to the latter. Then his phone chimed ‘unread messages’.

Oh shit! He’d sent Ajay that super ambiguous message, fully meaning to message her again once he was on his way.

Oopsie. He opened the thread and flinched at the five unanswered messages from his (maybe now ex) best friend.

‘Sorry, Chica. I fell asleep on the train.’

‘THOUGHT YA WERE DEAD!’ She sent back, and he didn’t doubt it. Most people would take ‘by the time you see this message I’ll be gone’ that way. He really had meant to text her once he got on the train. Guess the whole thing took more out of him than he was willing to admit.

‘Who said that? Hospitals r boring. Took my new piernas & bolted.’ He pouted for a minute, feeling bad and not liking it. Stupid Ajay, making him feel like an asshole. ‘New legs work great, BTW. Thx for asking.’

‘Do they now?’ He could tell she was pissed. ‘We wouldn’t know because the doctors haven’t even checked them out! Get off that train and get back here!’

His head thumped back against the seat and he reached up to fumble the blue medical mask away from his face and shut his eyes. He felt short of breath and his head throbbed at the thought of those doctors, prodding him and droning on and on about ‘safety’ and ‘consequences’. He could see it in his minds eye: the bright florescent lights, the incessant beeping, the feeling of needles and IVs, the smell of disinfectant. His breath stuttered for a moment and he sat up to answer her.

‘I would, hermana. But u know me. Can’t stay in 1 place 2 long. Sore joints. JAJAJAJAJAJAJA’

It took her a minute to answer.

‘ya think ya funny? What if ya catch an infection? Lose a lot more than ya legs.’

Octavio shivered and lifted his pants leg so he could see where metal met flesh. Looked fine to him? ‘Then u can get me those prosthetics 2!’ That seemed like the best solution. The less flesh the better: metal lasted a lot longer, could take a lot more wear and tear… Why weren’t more people going through with body mods? Seemed like the way to go to him.

‘ya about “2” seconds from getting blocked.’

She wouldn’t block him; they went too far back.

‘Spoke to ya parents this morning.’

Octavio hadn’t eaten anything since before the accident, but if he had he might have lost it just then.

‘????’

‘Don’t ???? me. Ya think I wouldn’t try to track ya down? What, ya just meet me yesterday? I told em how ya were brought into the clinic with ya legs almost blown off, how taking a desk job with them at Silva Pharm was the last thing ya wanted… know what they told me? Guess!’

Octavio really didn’t want to get caught in this particular lie. He didn’t even know how to respond.

‘THERE IS NO JOB WAITING FOR YA AT SILVA.’

‘???’ He fumbled. ‘Was there supposed 2 be?’

‘There was an offer letter from ya parents by ya dinner tray last night. I saw it when I came to visit. And don’t ya go pretending there wasn’t. We’ve known each other too long to pull this crap.’

Fuck man… This was going bad. Maybe he could deny his way out of this.

‘Don’t know what ur talking about. No letter here. Never said anything re a job. U assumed that. And u know what they say re people who don’t look b4 leaping, chica. jaja’

‘…….’

Ajay, please drop it.

‘That’s how ya gonna play this? Really?’

‘Who’s playing?’ This certainly didn’t feel like a game.

‘Just found it crumpled in a ball in the garbage can. Last chance to fess up, before I get a better look at it.’

Nononononono don’t read it.

‘Che. C’mon. U sounding crazy.’

‘Crazy? No. Crazy would be ya dad ending a job offer letter to ya with “We can’t wait to board the Octrain”.’

‘Maybe he can’t?’

‘That was sarcasm!’

Okay, so it wasn’t his best get away plan, but it was certainly elaborate, and it had worked. He was on a train heading away from all that shit. Away from the doctors, away from his parents, away from Ajay, who would have made him stay.

‘Busted. But look. Know what I had 2 look 4ward to if it wasn’t 4 u? PT. Rehab. Worst of all? BEING BEDRIDDEN. U saved my life, Che. I owe u 1.’ He meant it.

‘Ya got that right. I risked my job for ya. So pay me back by NOT doing something as stupid as this again. Using a grenade to launch yourself into a world record… ya damn near died. Wam wit ya?!?’

But hey, he _had_ made the world record. The idea hadn’t even been his: he _performed_ stunts, he didn’t calculate the odds of their success.

‘Just following what that guy in the sim-vid did.’

‘Sim as in SIMULATION. NOT REALITY. What don’t miss ya pass ya. Ya have a second chance. Learned ya lesson awa?’

Second chance… at what? The life she wanted for him was boring. Dull. He couldn’t handle it… that wasn’t life, that was imprisonment.

‘Si. Yes.’

‘I learned the most important lesson of all…’

Maybe he could inject some humor into the situation.

‘…jump higher before setting off the next grenade.’

‘JAJAJAJAJAJA’

He laughed to himself and leaned back, a genuine smile sliding over his face for the first time since the accident. Then a thought occurred to him: speed would be good where he was going. Maybe grenades weren’t the answer he had hoped for, but he’d seen schematics for another solution.

‘What about a jump-pad instead? Trust fund’ll cover it.’

He felt excited by the idea. It was brilliant! He waited a moment, but she didn’t answer.

‘Che?’

Still no answer. His palms began sweating.

‘Come on, amiga. I was joking about the next grenade!’

They were best friends, right?

‘Ajay…?’

‘THE RECIPIENT HAS BLOCKED YOU FROM THIS CONVERSATION.’

He would never admit it to anyone, but he cried the rest of the train ride to the Recruitment Center.

Octavio bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet, the mechanical joints in his legs making springy, metallic noises with each movement. He was crammed into one of many drop ships, heading for Kings Canyon on the planet Solace. He and the other New Blood were jostled by each lean and bump the ship encountered, squashing Octavio between much larger bodies, elbows digging into his ribs. One caught his elbow on one of Octavio’s metal injection points and flinched back, cursing. It stung his abdomen where the skin had tugged, but Octavio grinned behind his mask.

‘Serves the cabrón right.’

The dropship engines roared, almost drowning out the hushed, nervous murmuring of the other newbies surrounding him. The tension in the air was palpable, so he glanced out the window at the other countless other ships flying in formation beside theirs, trying to distract himself.

‘Che is on one of those.’ He pressed his hand up to the window and felt the thrum of the engines in his body. His limbs were trembling with adrenaline: a mix of fear and excitement. He forced a feral grin to his face and reminded his flight instinct to take a hike: the fear should only make the excitement sweeter. He had been floored when he’d heard that Ajay had joined the games right after him… honestly, he wasn’t sure if she’d joined because of him or not, but the timing was suspicious to say the least. First, she lays into him for being reckless, then she blocks him (her best friend!), then she joins the games too!

‘Tch, que puta hipocrita…’ He grimaced. Hopefully they would both make it out alive.

But hey! He wasn’t going to be bored anymore, that was for damn sure. He’d followed through on the jump-pad idea too, that and another one he hadn’t told her about. There had been enough trust fund money to hire an engineer to design some collapsible jump pads for Octavio to use in the field: whip it out of his belt pack, the size of a frisbee and chuck it to activate. BOOM. Jump-pad. Absolutely fucking brilliant… he’d tipped the engineer well. The stim solution was his own mad scientist design, something he knew Ajay would absolutely slaughter him for. The mix was volatile and too much of it was highly toxic, but man did it put some pep in his step. He’d gone to a back-alley surgeon to put in the injection points and the portable dialysis machine for matches. It filtered out excess stim so his system wouldn’t get poisoned and shut down on him… if he was going to die in the games, it was to a bullet.

‘Worth the risk.’ He patted the stims nestled orderly in his front packs. He couldn’t wait to show these off to his fans. This was going to be his legacy: to make a name for himself in the games. Forget Silva Pharmaceuticals. Forget his parents. This was going to be everything for him.

The ship lurched unexpectedly and everyone heaved to one side with a joint cry of surprise and pain. Smashed up against the window by the weight of hundreds of bodies Octavio could see the Legends dropship cruise by, boldly emblazoned with the white and red Predator skull.

He promised himself he’d get on that ship or die trying.

When they finally arrived above Kings Canyon all the dropships stalled and sent out connective scaffolding & bridges, locking the ship together in one large hovering fleet. An automated voice told them to turn their attention to the communication screens for team assignments. Octavio couldn’t help but bounce on his feet again as team banners and drop off info began flickering over the screens. It was the first game of the Season, so numbers were still high and the Legends would be paired with New Blood and Veterans until a few games in when a majority had died off or dropped out. There weren’t many Legends to go around though, so Octavio clasped his hands and sent a fervent prayer to Virgen María that he be paired with one of them. He was particularly keen on the Legend called Gibraltar: he was built like a tank and tended to go pretty offensive with his tactics. Octavio was convinced they could wipe the battlefield if they got a chance to work together. He fumbled with the GoPro strapped to his chest, feeling along the connections to ensure they were tight. When they were about to drop, he’d start he stream so his fans could watch from his POV too.

Then Ajay’s banner appeared on the screen and his heart leapt in his chest. Lifeline, the Combat Medic was paired with another New Blood and a Legend. The haunting white eyes of the Voidwalker that went by Wraith faded from the screen and Octavio shook his hands out.

‘You got this Che! Creo en ti!’

He reached up and adjusted his goggles, then messed with the settings on his elevation mask. His hands were shaking pretty bad, but he didn’t mind. He’d need the adrenaline soon.

There he was! His banner! He whooped and pumped the air: he had a Legend!

Not the one he wanted, but still. He could make Bloodhound work.

He and the other Newbie were waiting on the scaffolding point CA14-4B for Bloodhound. Octavio sat, kicking his feet over the edge of the creaking metal, the ground slowly drifting by thousands of feet below. The other fighter was an Engineer with long blond hair that went by Joist; he was quiet, but very nice. Octavio told him he hoped they both survived and Joist went green.

“Maybe… Maybe not the best time to bring that up.” He swallowed, glancing around at the other combatants. Soon, they would all be fighting.

“Eh, no use in sugarcoating the truth, gringo!” Octavio stood and stretched, then leaned in, hands on his hips. “If you can’t stand the heat, why’d you jump in the fire?”

Joist’s face made a complicated expression.

Then Octavio saw Bloodhound approaching and felt a tingling surge of adrenaline course through his veins. They moved like a cat, head turning this way and that as they effortlessly wove through the crowd. Their hips rolled as they took long, confident steps, shoulders slightly hunched like an animal. The Raven that sat on their shoulder crowed sharply as they stopped in front of Octavio and Joist.

“Ah, the nýtt blóð…” They crossed heir arms as they regarded Octavio and his peer. After a moment they seemed satisfied and relaxed. “Good. Try and keep up.”

Octavio laughed and jogged in place. “Aha! Just wait Chico, you will have a hard time keeping up with _me_!”

Bloodhound cocked their head at him as if regarding an interesting bug they found on a nature walk. The opportunity for further conversation went away when the alarm for dropping began to sound above them. Octavio reached up and flicked on his GoPro, the chat overlay for his livestream appearing in the lower left corner of his vision.

‘OMFGGGG HE’S LIVE!’

‘Octane I love youuuuuuu’

‘GO FUCK THEM UP’

‘is he going to die guys like wut’

The dropships propelled forward as one and teams began to drop, their jets sending out brightly colored smoke trails behind them. Bloodhound took point and held their hand up, stilling Octane and Joist, both holding their breath. Then with a flick of their wrist, Bloodhound leapt into the air, their Raven streaking along beside them. Octavio leapt a second later without hesitation.

Oh what a _rush_.

Okay… Octavio was _not_ feeling this play style. Bloodhound had them perched on the overlook above Cascades; they had very firmly told Joist and Octavio to sit quietly. The hot sun was beating down on them and Octavio was bored out of his gourd. He sat with his back against the barrier, rolling his head to the side to look at Bloodhound again. They were sweeping the perimeter with their Triple Take, their Raven flying to and from them as if relaying information. He glanced sideways at Joist who was making a show of looking around with his G7; Octavio knew it was wasted effort, Bloodhound and the Raven had the valley on lockdown. The chat was as unhappy about this development as he was.

‘BORIIIIIING’

‘wow so this is apex huh’

‘brb, gonna take a nap’

‘Octane, do something!’

Octavio stood up and stretched, eyes roving over the barriers set up on the top of the Overlook. He wondered how many he could jump at once.

Three. He can jump three.

He tumbled into the fourth one, then jumped back up and ran some laps before trying again. Hah, cleared it. Time to pick up a little speed and…

“Octane, silence yourself. Two enemy squads approach.”

“What? For real?” He hopped up next to them. “It’s about time!”

“You are impatient.” They observed, turning away from him to peer through their scope again.

Octane laughed. “I wait for no one, amiga.”

Bloodhound gave him a sideways look that he was sure was disapproving, but he didn’t really care. Action was good. Action was why he was here. His hands itched to pull the R-99 from his back… or maybe the P2020 at his hip? He’d decide when the time came.

A few quiet minutes passed, then he saw them emerge: one team from downstream, one from the opening in the cliff across from them. It didn’t take much time for the latter team to rush into the houses beneath Octavio’s team, seemingly unaware of their presence. Octavio wasn’t about to pass this up. He leapt to his feet, only to have his wrist grabbed by Bloodhound.

“No, wait until they engage each other. Then we move.”

Bloodhound had won the first ever Apex Games, becoming the first Legend. They had won another since then and had an incredible track record and KDR. There was no doubt about it, their tactics worked. But Octane just didn’t play that way.

“Sorry hermoso, no can do!”

He twisted out of their grip and tossed a jump-pad at the edge of the Overlook, running, jumping, _flying…_

He was flung into the open air, twisting around to pull his R-99 free. One of the Apex drone cameras flew in, capturing his freefall and broadcasting it to the millions of viewers. If that wasn’t the best feeling in the world, Octavio didn’t know what was. As his jetpack kicked in to slow his fall he saw one of his opponents poke their head out from around a loot bin. A spray of bullets and blood and they were down, Octavio zipping away as their teammates leveled their guns on him. A bullet grazed one of his legs, tripping him up for a moment and he tumbled. He twisted as he fell, dropping behind a tree as another spray of bullets whizzed by, hitting the trunk of the tree and the ground where he had been a moment before. He could hear their pounding footsteps bearing down on him. Cool.

He popped the pins on two grenades.

After simultaneously demolishing the tree, singing himself and blowing one of his attackers to kingdom come, Octavio had successfully gotten the attention of the second squad that had been coming up from downriver. As the second squad moved in he realized he’d been sandwiched between the remaining opponent from the first squad and them. Time to move. He whipped out a stim and stabbed it into his thigh; he didn’t have time to fuck around with his injection points.

What a feeling… it was incredible! His muscles sang with adrenaline as he ran, the sandy ground spraying up behind him. He rounded the corner of a building, thrilled with his quick getaway when…

CRACK!

He clotheslined himself on a very large arm.

“Watch out there bruddah!” Laughed a deep voice. Octavio was seeing stars from smacking the back of his head so hard into the ground. Large hands grabbed him & he struggled weakly as they dragged him further around the corner.

“Don’t worry, new kid. I won’t kill ya, just put you out of commission.”

His eyes finally started working again, focusing in on the big white smile above him.

“Oh… Gibraltar. Hey, I’m a big fan, hermano.”

“That so?” Gibraltar laughed again. “That was some quick work out there, kid. Not bad! Probably got a few fans yourself after that stunt.” He pulled out his wingman, the sound of it loading doing unpleasant things to Octavio’s insides, and pointed it at him. “I’ll try to miss your major organs.”

Oh shit. He clenched his eyes shut and had he decency to feel a bit like an ass. Bloodhound _had_ told him not to engage yet.

A shot like a blast went off and Octavio flinched in on himself, hands flying to his abdomen. Oh María… he was so high on adrenaline he couldn’t even feel the pain! But his hands found no damage and he pulled them away, wrenching open his eyes to look. No blood. He heard scuffling and sat up, open mouthed in shock as Bloodhound tossed aside their Peacekeeper and threw themselves bodily on Gibraltar. His arm shield had been shattered by their shot: he’d blocked it just in time when he noticed them creeping up on the roof above him. He twisted and reached back to grab them from his shoulders, but they clung on, swinging their hatchet into his side where it cut through his protective armor and gashed him. It wasn’t a serious wound, but it hurt like a bitch and Gibraltar roared in pain and managed to get Bloodhound by the throat, chucking them off of him and into the stream. They scrambled to their feet in the water and bolted for their peacekeeper, but Gibraltar already had his Prowler aimed at them.

Oh _fuck_ no.

Octavio peppered him with rapid shots from his P2020, and though most of it was blocked by his shield it got his attention away from Bloodhound. Gibraltars teammates burst through the underbrush just as Joist and another squad did.

How many squads were even here?! Gunfire and screams rend the air as a flurry of bodies and bullets fly by and converge on the valley, the sound only attracting more squads from afar. Suddenly missiles began raining from the air and people scattered. Octavio called out to Bloodhound as they blasted someone in the leg with their Peacekeeper.

“Take the Jump-Pad!” He bolted, hitting the jump-pad and flying in the air through the window of an adjacent building, Bloodhound close behind. Joist almost made the jump-pad but the missiles detonated before he got clear of them. Octavio could just make out his prostrate form laying sideways in the shallow water, smoke clearing around him.

“No!” He cried, moving to clamber out the window. “I’m coming, amigo!”

Again Bloodhounds hand wrapped around his wrist, more forcefully this time. “Leave him, vinur minn! It would do him no honor for you to die needlessly.”

Octavio’s throat worked as he fought with himself, but he finally relented and nodded, allowing them to pull him further into the house. Outside the sound had risen again, the squads clashing once more. Bloodhound directed him to hide himself in one corner of the room and they would take the scaffolding that served as a second story. As enemy fighters ran in for cover, they picked them off cleanly. Eventually all was quiet.

“The slátra haults…” Bloodhound hummed, cautiously peeking their head out the window to take in the carnage. Octavio checked the squad count on his comm… only one other squad left. His hands were shaking as he slid down from his perch atop the crates, halting as Bloodhound motioned for him to stop moving.

“Haltu kjafti! Someone approaches!” They hissed.

The door burst open and Wraith glanced between Bloodhound and Octane, her left hand glowing an eerie blue.

“Shit.”

A portal exploded into existence behind her and she threw herself back into it, disappearing from sight.

“Comadre, that’s the last squad… That’s the last squad!” Octavio cried, leaping from the crates towards the portal.

“No! You _bjáni_! _Wait_!”

But Octavio was already through the portal and quickly saw the error of his ways as bullets pummeled him. His shields absorbed some damage, but he felt at least three bullets tear through his abdomen and left arm. He stumbled, choking on the pain, then threw a jump-pad and somersaulted over them.

Wraith and Ajay… their third was off to the side, bleeding out. They must have been looking for a safe place for Ajay to bandage him and stumbled right into Octane and Bloodhound, the final enemy squad.

Octavio tried not to groan as the bullet wounds oozed blood down his front and back. That… hadn’t been a good idea. He pressed himself back against a rise in the earth, tensing when he heard Ajay call out to him.

“Silva! What do ya think ya doin?!” She sounded as pissed about his idiocracy as Bloodhound probably was.

“Heya chica!” He choked out, trying to sound lighthearted as he pressed a hand to one of the wounds, attempting to stop the bleeding. “Sorry, but I gotta take you two down. Business is business, y’know?”

He pulled out a shield cell and began charging up his shields, knowing a medpack wouldn’t be enough medical intervention to prevent him going down to the next hit. He heard them rushing him as his shields slowly _s l o w l y_ recharged.

‘C’mon c’mon c’mon…’

Just as he saw Ajay and Wraith crest the hill a ringing shot sounded and Ajay buckled, her shields broken. Another shot quickly followed and she was down, blood spraying the grass in front of her.

Octavio wasn’t sure if it had been Ajay’s scream or his that he heard.

He felt numb and cold but jumped up, shields only a quarter charged, and sprayed the R-99 at Wraith. She shot back, tearing holes in his thighs and buckling one of his mechanical legs. As he collapsed in the mud a voice boomed over the speaker:

“We have our Apex Champions!”

He lifted his head with some effort and saw Wraith collapsed a few feet away from him and Bloodhound sliding from the roof of their hideout, running towards him. Absently heard a low thrumming and realized that the medical ships were already inbound: they would prioritize the Legends and crowd favorites first. Better to go down late so you got medical attention sooner… if you were shot down early in the game it could be days before someone came to help.

He dragged himself over to Ajay and shoved a shaking hand to her neck, feeling for a pulse. She whacked his hand away and grimaced.

“Ya deserve a foot in ya ass, Silva.” She groaned, dark brown eyes sliding open to glare at him. He didn’t even care if she was furious with him, she was alive, and he had just won.

“Come on Che! I just won the first game of the Season!” He shot some finger guns at her then groaned and flopped down next to her. “Are you proud of me, hermana?”

She just snorted and pulled DOC out from his carry case, deploying him. He quickly began working, injecting them with lifesaving medicine so they wouldn’t bleed out before the medics arrived. Wraith groaned nearby as DOC flew her way.

Octavio hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes until something blocked his light. He slipped them open and looked up into Bloodhounds masked face, haloed by the sunlight.

“We do not have very compatible styles, Octane. You are reckless.” They shook their head at him as he lay in the mud awkwardly. “Yet… I have nothing but respect for a fellow warrior. You are brave, félagi, if foolish…”

They stared at each other a moment longer, then Bloodhound stood from their crouched position and walked away as the medics rushed in. Octavio lay in the dirt stained with his blood and realized he’d never felt more alive.


	2. Mi casa es tu casa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Bloodhound and Octavio's victory, the Newbies and Veterans decide to celebrate with a party at Octavio's dorm. It goes well in Octavio's opinion: they try some drugs, get in a fight, and get laid. That's how all the best parties go, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo, everyone. I hope you like this second chapter. I have literally never written a sex scene in my entire life, so I hope it doesn't suck D:
> 
> Like the tags say, recreational drug use, sex, bad language, canon typical violence, etc. Also, I didn't feel the need to tag this as dubious consent because Octavio is NOT high when he consents to the sex, maybe buzzed, but definitely sober enough to consent. 
> 
> This chapter is significantly longer than the last one, sorry about that. Meant for them to be both about the same length, but it wasn't long enough to cut into two either, so... meh. 
> 
> My Headcanon for Bloodhound is that they're albino and that because they breathed in that cold vapor (in the Old Ways event cinematic) they are always freezing cold. Those two things in my mind justify why they're always as bundled up as they are. Also, I theorize that there's a religious reason for covering their face all the time. I'm going to add a tag that says Pagan Bloodhound, because 100% are they Norse Pagan. Yes, that means I think they do magick.
> 
> I almost had this done like a week ago, then the world went crazy and I've been busy protesting. I hope everyone is staying safe, hopefully this story can help you escape from the state of things for even a little while. I love you all, please enjoy!
> 
> Edit: (06/18/2020) So I changed the petname Bloodhound calls Octane because it occurred to me that a translation issue may have arose. I had them call him 'little one' in Icelandic and literally at work I was like, "wait... are they literally calling him, like, little number? Like, a little number one? Nope, gotta fix it." So instead of 'sá litli' they now call him 'krúttið mitt' which means 'sweetheart', approximately. Thanks for putting up with my mania!

Octavio grimaced as the nurse tightened the bandages around his chest, the florescent lights of the Medical Ward glaring down at him. It wasn’t as bad as the Hospitals he’d been in before, but it was still his least favorite part of partaking in dangerous hobbies.

“Considering this was your first ever match, you came out pretty well!” She reassured, patting his shoulder. “Most aren’t so lucky.”

“Aw, this wasn’t luck!” He laughed, pulling the goggles back down over his eyes and shooting her a cocky grin. “Pure skill, baby.”

She rolled her eyes as if to say ‘yeah, never heard that one before’ and handed him his discharge papers. “There’s a whole slew of reporters out there, fair warning. They’re pretty rabid. You ready for that?”

Octavio pulled his crop top on over his bandages and nodded. “Oh yeah, I love attention, hermana. Right up my alley.” He clasped his elevation mask back on despite the disapproving look she gave him. “Thanks for your help!”

She nodded and reached over to flip the vents on his mask as open as they’d go, then turned and opened the door to let him out. The hallway directly outside his room was quiet, but as he drew nearer to the waiting room he could hear the murmuring growing louder. Octavio could hear Bloodhounds crackling, quiet voice clearly though.

“I will only answer a few more questions, I wish to be somewhere else.”

“Bloodhound, Bloodhound! You were paired with two New Blood today and only managed to keep one of them alive! Is team survival second to getting the win or do you consider yourself a team player?”

He heard them ‘tch’ loudly. Octavio felt his arms prickle with goosebumps: he hadn’t realized that Joist had died… in the moment of victory he’d forgotten how badly injured his teammate had been. He felt guilt crawling up his throat. What could he have done? If he’d run out there odds are he would have been gunned down while trying to drag Joist to safety, leaving Bloodhound alone to try and defend their hideout. Maybe they could have done it too, but he doubted that even Bloodhound could have taken out Wraith and Ajay alone. There was no room for guilt in the games: Joist had known what he was signing up for. They all did. So he shoved his guilt in a dark corner, cracked his neck and threw open the doors.

“Hey hey hey! Looks like the Apex games weren’t prepared for _this_ contender, baby!” He shouted, pointing at the cameras and blowing them a kiss. “To all my fans that believed in me! Thank you, it’s all for you!”

The reporters all turned from Bloodhound to Octavio, pushing forward and shoving microphones in his face.

“Silva! Silva please, I have a question over here!”

“You’re the only son of the Silva Pharmaceuticals CEOs, correct? Are your parents and their multibillion-dollar company backing your entry into the games or is this a private venture?”

“You’re already a well-known internet influencer Octane, what made you decide to make the move to more traditional media, here in the Outlands of all places?”

Octavio answered as many questions as he could, eating in the attention and putting on a show for the cameras. He noticed Bloodhound sneaking out the back and grinned behind his mask. He’d known from watching previous Seasons how much Bloodhound hated giving interviews… maybe he should have left them to suffer a little longer.

Naw, that would mean less camera time for Octavio.

“My brand is danger, amigo!” He announced to a reporter. “And what’s more dangerous than the Apex Games? Non terrae plus ultra!”

“And what does that mean, Octane? Is that your motto?”

A few more contestants were being released from the Medical Ward, so the reporters were finally thinning out, trying to interview as many as possible. Octavio was thrilled to see Ajay heading his way and didn’t bother answering the reporters question, instead bounding over to his mejor amiga and wrapping her in his arms, spinning around.

“Che! Mi corazón bella!”

She flinched in pain and shoved him off but smiled despite herself. “Alright, get offa me Silva. One win and it’s all going to ya head already.” She cast a critical eye over his bandages and reached out to adjust them, unable to help herself. “How are ya injuries?”

“It’s you I should be asking after.” He tutted, brushing off her hands. “A couple grazes, no hay problema. It will take more than that to keep _me_ down.”

“Honestly Silva, I shudder to think what _would_ keep ya down.” Ajay snorted, looking irritated again.

“Don’t give me that look, hermana.” He whined, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s head back to my dorm and kick it. We can order delivery. How’s wings sound?” Oh fuck he was _starving_ , how hadn’t he noticed before?

“Fine. But you’re buying.” She griped, letting him lead her out of the Medical Ward and out to the grounds. It was a bit of a walk back to the Newbies dorms, but neither of them minded much, enjoying the evening sun as it began to set. Things were still tense between them, but this was a step in the right direction, and Octavio would take it. As they went, other combatants would stop and chat with them, congratulating Octavio on his win and Ajay on second place. A group of Veterans pulled them aside as they were about to head into the Dorm building.

“Hey, Octane, Lifeline!”

“Yeah? What can we do for ya?” Asked Ajay, hand on her hip.

“First win of the Season went to a Newbie, sounds like reason to celebrate.” The tallest of the three Vets said. “We like to celebrate our victories where we can. Party in your room, Octane? We’ll bring our own drinks.”

Ajay shot him a look, but Octavio really couldn’t pass this up. “Fuck yeah! Spread the word, party at my place tonight!”

The three Vets whooped and gave him high-fives, rushing off to… spread the word? Ajay shook her head and sighed. “Ya better let your roommate know about this before they start arriving.”

“You’ll come, right Che?” Asked Octavio, feeling another torrent of adrenaline tingling through his fingers. He’d been looking forward to hanging with Ajay, sure, but hanging with Ajay _at a party_ sounded even better.

“Ya promised me wings, so ya’d better still deliver, Silva.” He whooped. “I’ll be there at 7!” She yelled after his retreating form as he began clamoring up the stairs.

Cool, just enough time to order some food and clean up. Man, Octavio loved parties.

By the time the sun had fully set the party was in full swing, bass music pumping out the open windows into the thick summer air. The small room couldn’t remotely house all the people and they spilled out into the hallways and adjacent rooms. Every room in the hallway was open so people could mill in and out, sharing food, drinks and conversation. Octavio had changed out of his combat clothing into something decidedly comfier. His kaleidoscope rave goggles were pushed up to the top of his head, kept in place by his tousled, curly brown mohawk, and his elevation mask was traded for a chibi smiley face with fangs. When he’d sauntered out with those gems combined with his cropped hoodie and rolled up joggers Ajay had scoffed and told him he looked like a dork. He’d just winked and told her to go off with her jealous self: she’d laughed and punched him in response. They’d snapped some selfies over the last hour and posted them online for his fans, titled:

‘CELEBRATING the WIN with my main Chica, Che! <3 <3 <3’

After a few hours almost everyone was in some stage of drunk or high, the lights getting turned down lower as the music was cranked higher. Octavio gave them all a run for their money, ensuring that his and everyone else’s glasses were always full, but never seeming to succumb to the effect of anything he ingested.

“I’ve always had a crazy high metabolism.” He explained to some glaze eyed newbies as they all lounged on his futon with him. “Fast, just like me!”

The little group giggled and offered him a cigarette, which he happily accepted. A pretty dark-skinned man lit it for him, winking.

“You owe me ten years now, Octane.”

Octavio blew his smoke away from them and grinned. “I’ll have you fucked out in five, bet on it.”

“It’s not _always_ beneficial to be fast, honey.” Commented one of the girls, poking his chest. “Don’t you ever like to, you know, take it slow?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

He rolled his eyes and stubbed out the still burning cigarette. “No. And trust me, yal, you don’t want it any slower than I do.”

Truth be told, Octavio planned on getting laid tonight. It would be the perfect finish to a perfect day… he just hadn’t settled on _who_ exactly he was going to take to bed. There were a lot of sexy, interesting people here.

Well, except for her. She supposedly wanted it _slow_. He wrinkled his nose.

A hush fell over the crowd in the main room, so he hopped up from the futon to see if everything was okay. To his, and everyone else’s surprise, a group of Legends were standing in the entryway, looking uncomfortable. He really had not been expecting to see Bloodhound again today, especially not at a party, yet here they were, hovering behind Gibraltar.

Holy shit, Gibraltar was at his party!

Octavio bound forward, surprised to also see Wraith with them, as well as two Legends he hadn’t met yet. He knew who they were though, he’d watched the previous Seasons after all. Bangalore and Mirage: the ass-kicking soldier and the wise-cracking trickster. Mirage was last Seasons fan-favorite, earning him a place on the roster, so he was the most recent addition to the Legends. Definitely a pretty boy.

“Mi amigos! Welcome to the party! Anything you need, I’m your man!” He laughed, hoping they wouldn’t catch the nervous pitch to his voice. “Yo, uh, you just missed it too! I rode a mattress down the stairs to the lower level like, thirty minutes ago. It was wild! Che streamed it and everything!”

“We know…” Sighed Bloodhound, head tilting sideways at him. “We had to climb over it to get up here.”

Octavio flushed as they stared at him, so he shrugged and glanced away. “Whoops. Shoulda been here, it was a blast.”

“Y-you really know how to party, huh?” Laughed Mirage, a curious smile on his face. “And I thought the parties from last Season were wild. Oh, I’m Elliot by the way, Elliot Witt.”

“I know you! _Everyone_ knows you, man!” Octavio grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. “Cool guy, likes to joke. I like to joke too! Octavio Silva, but my friends call me O.”

“No we don’t.” Scoffed Ajay who had come up behind him. “We call him ‘asshat’. Welcome to the party, don’t let Silva scare ya off, now.”

“Hey, you’re Lifeline! Renee was telling me all about you.” Elliot shook her hand too.

“You do good work.” Renee commented, giving Ajay a small smile. “Almost had these bastards.” She jerked her head at Bloodhound and Octavio.

“In your dreams, sweet-cheeks!” Scoffed Octavio, brushing some dark curls from his forehead. “That win was in the bag!” Renee was looking at him like she wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or slit his throat.

“I’m with Renee on this one.” Commented Bangalore. “How many times did Bloodhound have to save your ass?”

Everyone turned and looked at Bloodhound, who shrugged casually.

Gibraltar cleared his throat and smiled. “Well, I think Silva did some damn good work. He moves quick and clean, I like it!”

Octavio flushed under his mask and bounced on his feet to redirect the energy.

“Yeah, no hard feelings.” Sighed Renee. “Just part of the game. I got some good shots in you anyway.” She eyed the bandages poking out from under his crop top.

“Ya wanna go get some food, Blasey? Silva ordered wings and pizza.” Ajay gestured towards the kitchen, and Renee nodded.

“Yeah, that sounds good. You in Anita? Elliot?”

“Sure.”

“Absal-absulit-absolutely!” Stammered Elliot, following after them with a cheeky grin and wave to Octavio, Gibraltar and Bloodhound.

After they left Gibraltar slapped a big hand on Octavio’s head and ruffled his hair. “Aye, don’t let Williams get to you, okay? She seems harsh, but she’s alright.” He gave Octavio that goofy grin again. “That was a great game out there, kid.”

Octavio smirked and flushed again, trying to brush off Gibraltars enormous hand. It was nice to get an opportunity to see him out of his bulky battle gear and looking so casual, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and sandals. Trying to dislodge one of his hands was like trying to take out a skyscraper with a spoon though. Man, Gibraltar was solid. “Gibby, do you lift dawg? Damn!” He squeezed a massive bicep as Gibraltar blushed and laughed.

“Please call me Makoa. I’m gonna grab a drink, you guys want one?”

Octavio nodded and Bloodhound shook their head. The air between them became awkward the moment Makoa walked away. Octavio glanced sideways at them, trying to find something to talk about. They seemed to be looking at him, but realistically he had no idea where they were looking because of their mask. They had changed out of their combat gear as well, though the goggles and mask were the same. It was… interesting to see them in street clothes. They had on a hooded sweatshirt, hood up, and a thick baggy jacket over the top of that. Dark jeans, combat boots, black gloves… they were covered head to toe, just like in the battlefield. Still, the look somehow worked for them, even if it drove Octavio crazy that he couldn’t see their expressions.

“So, thanks for being a good sport.” Octavio offered lamely. “Maybe we could be more aggressive next time though, I’ve seen in previous Seasons where you went all…” He made a growly noise and motioned towards his eyes. “… and absolutely slapped some squads! Wanna try that next time?”

Bloodhound just stared at him.

Octavio swallowed and glanced down, then to the side. When was Makoa getting back? Then he heard them chuckle.

They imitated the motion he made around his eyes and repeated the growling noise, deep in their throat. It sounded way better when they did it. “I assume you are referring to the times I have called upon the Allfather…?”

“Sure.” Octavio shrugged, blushing slightly when they chuckled again. “Hey, don’t laugh.”

They leaned back against the doorframe and crossed their ankles, their gaze penetrating him even from behind those blacked out lenses. “We may again be on the same squad before this Season ends, should the Allfather wish it.” They made a clicking noise and looked away. “But, also, we may not. The future is impossible to see, Octane.”

“Octavio.”

“Pardon?”

“Uh, you can call me Octavio. Or Silva. Or O.” He rattled off his monikers, then waited for them to likewise introduce themself. He was disappointed when they simply nodded.

“So what’s your name, compadre?” He prompted.

“Bloodhound?” They cocked their head at him again. “But you already know this?”

“Your name is Bloodhound?” He scoffed incredulously. “You use your real name as your moniker? That’s arroz con culo, bud.”

“I have one identity: the one that the Allfather granted me. The Bloodhound you see before you is the same Bloodhound that will hunt you in future matches. We are one and the same.” They reached out and poked his nose, then leaned in. “Make no mistake of that, krúttið mitt.”

Octavio blinked and swallowed as they leaned back against the door frame, arms crossed again. “You… you don’t have _any_ nicknames?”

They made a motion like they were rolling their eyes. It was kind of cute how exaggerated it had to be to be recognizable. “No. In my own language it just sounds different.”

“How is it said in your own language?”

“Blóðhundur.”

“Ooh…” Octavio grinned up at them. “Sexy! I like it.”

Bloodhound looked away, then glanced back. “How would you say it in your language?”

“Uh, sabueso. Or, sangre sabueso? I guess it depends on whether you want to emphasize the whole, ‘blood’ part, amiga”

Bloodhound snorted. “I like mine better.”

“Oh, I don’t know… I kind of like Sabueso.” Snickered Octavio. “Maybe I’ll call you that from now on!”

Bloodhound leaned forward, a finger in Octavio’s face as they firmly said “No.”, like they were scolding a bad dog. Octavio couldn’t help it, he had to laugh, which only seemed to irritate Bloodhound further. Makoa chose that time to return with his and Octavio’s drinks and conversation became pretty regular: ‘where are you from?’ ‘what did you think of your first match?’ ‘how do you know Ajay?’. After a while conversation slowed again and Octavio downed the rest of his lukewarm beer and crushed the can against his head. That seemed to knock loose a thought and he remembered that he had a new drug he’d wanted to try with Ajay! His friends had sent it to him from Nuna: it only grew there apparently. He’d been saving it for a special occasion, and this certainly counted.

“Che? Where you at?” He jogged to the kitchen and looked around for her. She wasn’t there, but a group of Veterans demanded he have a drink with them, so he slammed a shot of tequila and ran off looking for Ajay again. Maybe she was in his bedroom?

“Che?” He poked his head in and found her sitting on the floor with Renee and Anita as Elliots bounced on the futon. Yeah, multiple Elliots. “Whoa, looks like fun in here! Do you have your equipment on under there, hombre?”

One Elliot nodded, one of the Elliots laughed and another stuck his tongue out at Octavio. The real Elliot jumped off and executed a clumsy half bow as the others disappeared in a fizzle of blue. “I sure do! Don’t go anywhere without it!”

“Fucking sweet!” Octavio began feeling in Elliot’s pockets. “I wanna try it! Can I?”

“No, hell no.” Ajay snapped, throwing a dirty pair of boxers at him. “The last thing we need is more of ya running around! Get off with ya!”

Octavio wrestled the boxers from his head and tossed them against the wall where they slid to the floor. He flung himself to the ground and reached under his bed, pulling out a tub full of his goodies. He could feel the four of them watching him as he pulled out his hookah and the bag of green and purple leaves labeled ‘7VR’.

“This looks illegal.” Observed Anita with a sideways glance at Ajay, who was shaking her head disbelievingly.

“It’s not illegal. Yet.” Corrected Octavio, sliding the tub back under the bed. He glanced up and saw his lighter on the nightstand and grabbed it, stuffing it in his joggers front pocket. “Friend sent this to me from Nuna. Only grows there. They call it 7VR, good stuff! Wanna try?”

“No thanks.” Renee leaned back and got comfy in his beanbag chair. “I’ll pass.”

“Same.” Huffed Anita, eyeing the bag with intense dislike.

“Well hey, I was wondering where you all went!” Makoa and Bloodhound appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here? Octavio ran off so we figured we’d look for him.”

“Drugs.” Renee pointed at the bag in Octavio’s hands.

“ _Good_ drugs.” Corrected Octavio. “You in Che? Come on, just like old times?” He gave her his best puppy dog eyes and she sighed heavily.

“Fine. Ya got a problem, Silva, ya know that?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, amiga. How about you Makoa? Sabueso?”

Anita wrinkled her nose. “What did you just call Bloodhound?”

“Don’t ask.” They snapped, snatching the bag from Octavio’s hand and popping it open to peer at the contents.

“I don’t know… what’s it do?” Asked Makoa, peering over Bloodhounds shoulder as a dusty, flowery smell wafted from the bag.

“It’s supposed to help you relax.” Explained Octavio. “Helps you cut loose and chill out, y’know? I know it’s safe, big papi, I’ve looked up all the data.”

“I don’t know how reliable your ‘data’ is, hotshot.” Anita said, giving him another disapproving look, but Ajay cut in.

“Silva got a lotta problems pacing himself, for sure, but he knows what he’s ingesting. Ya can trust his data if he says it’s safe for ya.” She shot him a look. “I wouldn’t ingest _everything_ he does though, brilliant as he is he push his limits too far. That stim you packin’ today your own design, Silva?”

“You know it.” He winked at her. “Not for sharing. I mean, unless you all want to sport matching dialysis machines. I wouldn’t blame you, my stim is next to none. Worth the risk.”

“Yeah, no thanks bruddah.” Laughed Makoa. “But I will try your alien herbs. That sounds more my speed!”

“Same, I’m in!” Elliot

Octavio grinned and jogged out to the living room, clearing a space in the middle for his set-up. It took a minute to get everything ready, but in no time a sweet floral smoke was ready for sharing. Ajay and Makoa sat down next to Octavio on the couch, and a few New Bloods and Veterans joined his circle. He pulled the black facemask down below his chin and lifted the hose to his mouth, taking a drag, his eyes wandering up to where Bloodhound stood across the room watching him. He smirked at them and blew the purple smoke slowly out his nose, then handed the hose to Makoa, who followed suit, handing it to Elliot next. Bloodhound slowly moved forward and Octavio was reminded of his first impression of them: catlike, predatory. They gingerly sat across from him and it took him a minute to realize that they were here to smoke.

“Glad you could join us, Sabueso.” Octavio winked and took the hose from Ajay and reached across to Bloodhound, who took it from him hesitantly. The other smokers paused as they watched. Everyone was wondering how exactly Bloodhound planned on smoking through a gas mask.

They reached up and loosened the straps on their mask but didn’t take it fully off. Instead they slipped the mouthpiece underneath, then coughed out purple smoke. Octavio laughed as they choked.

“Don’t feel bad, this stuff packs a punch! Give it another go.”

They nodded and slid it back up under their mask and took another drag, then slid the mask back in place and breathed out, the purple smoke filtering out through the masks airways and filling up behind their lenses.

Ajay giggled as she took the hose from them. “Neva thought I would watch Bloodhound hotbox themself!”

Bloodhound shrugged and everyone laughed, passing the hoses around and having casual conversation. 7VR definitely lived up to its reputation and everyone began relaxing and talking quietly, leaning back in their seats, their eyes drooping. A few decided to call it a night, others slowly left the circle to find their friends. Eventually Ajay excused herself to check on Anita and Renee, and Makoa and Elliot decided to go look for some snacks in the adjacent rooms since the wings and pizza were all gone. That left Bloodhound and Octavio alone in the circle, a few other people milling around the room on the outskirts of Octavio’s vision. He felt _so_ relaxed, it was divine. Octavio loved uppers, he really did, but he relished the opportunities he had to take a good downer and really feel at peace for a minute. His metabolism would have this filtered out of his system in no time, so he wanted to enjoy the moment. Bloodhound had relaxed significantly, curled up slightly sideways on the chair, the mouthpiece of their mask now hanging below their lips. Octavio was trying hard not to stare, he didn’t want them to, y’know, notice that they had forgotten to cover the bottom portion of their face, because he was enjoying looking at it. They had many scars, some looked old and white, some were still relatively fresh and angry red, some traced their face like veins, pale blue. Were those their veins? They were incredibly pale, and whenever they smiled he couldn’t help but wonder if everyone had pointy canines like that and if he just had never noticed before.

“You know, I used to have a rabbit. Her name was Navi, I think your bird would have liked her!” Hummed Octavio, blinking sleepily at Bloodhound as their mouth twitched sideways into a wry smile.

“If by liked you meant would have eaten her.” They corrected. “Artur is a hunter, like me. And rabbit tastes good.”

Octavio stared at them in horror for a minute and they seemed to fight a grin. “By the Virgen María’s holy coochie… you really talking about eating my bunny?”

Bloodhound gave up the fight and laughed. It was a nice sound. Octavio liked how they sounded with the mask, but he decided he liked how they sounded better without it. “No, no I wouldn’t let Artur eat your pet, krúttið mitt.” They chuckled. “Who is this Virgen María that you speak of?”

“Oh, uh, surely you’ve heard of Virgen María? The Virgin Mary? Mother of our boy, Jesus Christ?” He half-heartedly made the sign of the cross like he’d been taught as a child.

Bloodhound shook their head and Octavio shrugged. “I wonder if she and your Allfather hang out.”

“Possibly.” Bloodhound stretched and leaned back, getting comfier in the chair, their head on the armrest. “I could ask him for you.”

“You talk to him, compañero?”

They nodded, smiling sleepily.

“Isn’t that like… brujería? Witchcraft?” Octavio whispered.

Bloodhound regarded him for a moment, then shrugged. Octavio wasn’t sure how to respond for a second, then relaxed and leaned back, shaking his wrist in their face. The gold bracelet with red and black stones tinkled against his skin, the black Azabache fist swung slightly. His parents had gotten it for him when he was a baby, to protect him from the Evil Eye.

“I’m not worried, I’m protected! See?” He laughed. “Anyway, maybe the bruja will like me.” He waggled his eyebrows at them. “Hey! Can you make me run faster?”

Bloodhound sighed and snuggled into the chair, forcing a frown to their face. “No.”

“Aw, too bad. Worth a try, amiga.” He leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing the hazy feeling to envelope him for a moment. He was surprised when he heard steady, heavy breathing coming from Bloodhound a moment later. They must have fallen asleep. He blinked at them, staring at where their lips were pink from where they’d chewed on the chapped parts. He thought about nibbling and licking that full, chapped bottom lip and flushed, a stupid grin on his face. He glanced up when his roommate dropped down next to him.

“Hey Spine.” He yawned and stretched. “Party’s winding down, huh?”

“Yeah, people are heading home.” Spine sighed. He was a rough individual, confrontational, crude. He and Octavio got on well enough, but Spine had not been among Octavio’s admirers when he won, to say the least. He was still angry about going down early game.

“So, how’d you manage that?” Spine snorted, jerking his head at Bloodhound as his entourage settled down next to him.

“You know me, chico! Everyone has a good time when I’m around.” He clicked and made finger pistols at him. Spine rolled his eyes and pulled a disgusted face. They were quiet for a moment, but Spine was still eyeing Bloodhound.

“They’re really out…” He mused. “I wonder what the rest of their face looks like. Wanna find out?” He grinned at Octavio and his friends in invitation.

No way. Absolutely not.

“Fuck no!” Octavio was on his feet in an instant, between Spine and Bloodhound. “Mi casa es su casa! Everyone here should be able to trust they’re gonna be taken care of, guillao. Leave Bloodhound alone.”

They glared at each other for a minute before Spine relented and sat back. “Fine. Didn’t take you for a fucking pussy, Silva.”

“Vete pa'l carajo, fuckwad.”

“Hey O!” Makoa stood in the doorway of the dorm and shook a bag of chips. “Elliot and I got pretty munchy after that stuff. Figured you were too, want some?”

Octavio gave Spine a final warning look, then turned and grinned at Makoa. “You’re goddamn right I’m hungry, papi!” He jumped over a chair and jogged his way over as Makoa popped the seal on the bag and laughed.

“There’s more where that came from. Some rooms further down the hall weren’t as badly ravaged. Wanna go check them out, bruddah?”

Octavio nodded vigorously and started off down the hall, meeting Elliot halfway. The three of them wandered around for a few minutes, munching on leftover party snacks and bidding people goodnight. A lot of the rooms were calling it quits and closing their doors. Octavio supposed that made sense, it was almost sunrise.

“Hey, do they still have that old volleyball net up outside?” Elliot asked, popping a chip in his mouth.

Octavio nodded.

“Wanna play? Gibby and I can get some people together if you can find a ball.”

“Oh yeah, that sounds great!” Octavio wiped chip dust on his joggers and took off for his dorm. He was pretty sure he had a volleyball in his bedroom somewhere. As he rounded the corner, he saw Spine slip his fingers under Bloodhounds goggles and Octavio’s vision tunneled.

“No you fucking don’t!” He leapt over the chair and grabbed the back of Spine’s shirt, yanking him off of Bloodhound. They toppled backward over the hookah set just as a blade flashed across their vision, right where the asshole had been standing a moment ago. Bloodhound was crouched now in the chair, their mask back in place and knife in hand, the neon lights lit up their knife and goggles making it look like they were glowing. Octavio felt his breath catch in his throat for a moment, but that was a moment of distraction too long as Spine slammed his head back into Octavio’s nose, breaking it. Octavio stumbled back and pressed a hand to his face, feeling the blood wet his mask, making it stick to his face. Spine’s friends jumped in, one attempted to grab Bloodhound, but they evaded him and stabbed their knife deep into the meat of his thigh. His roar of pain made Octavio grin with excitement, catapulting forward to grab Spine, who fisted his hand in Octavio’s hair and pulled, trying to wrench his neck. With a twist of his body he used Spine’s heavier, larger body to overbalance him and flipped him to the ground, slamming him in the face with a metal foot. A second later a fist closer around Octavio’s throat and rammed him against the wall as Spine howled and pressed a hand to the gash on his forehead. Octavio kicked and fought to free himself, but he couldn’t breathe, and this fucker wasn’t letting up.

“Bloodhound, help!” He gasped out as the guy raised his other fist to hit him. They were both slammed to the floor as Bloodhound body rushed him, a tangle of limbs as each tried to get up before the other. A well-aimed jab by Bloodhound had the larger man gasping for breath. They followed up by grasping both of their hands together and slamming it against the back of his neck, knocking him out. The sound of a gun being loaded caused both Bloodhound and Octavio to freeze and turn to Spine, his face smeared with blood from the gash Octavio had given him.

“I don’t take shit, you two better learn that lesson good.” He snarled and went to pull the trigger. Octavio jumped on Bloodhound, knocking them to the floor as the bullet hit the couch behind them. “Fuck! Fuck you Silva!”

“Stand down!”

Anita and the other Legends had arrived, drawn by the noise. Makoa lumbered forward and knocked the pistol from Spine’s hand, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and lifting him. “Better learn some manners, bruddah, or I’ll have to teach them to you.”

“I’m shutting this whole operation down.” Barked Anita, grabbing another one of the combatants and twisting their arm so she could direct him easily. “This party is over. EVERYONE OUT!”

Ajay, Renee and Elliot grabbed the last two brawlers and headed for the door. Ajay turned to where Octavio was still sprawled on the floor. “I’ll talk to the organizers. We’ll get ya a new roommate.”

Octavio nodded dumbly as his room quickly emptied of onlookers, leaving him and Bloodhound tangled on the floor. He glanced over at them and wondered if they were injured. They gingerly got to their feet and offered him a hand, which he gratefully took.

“Thank you.” They whispered, looking around the room awkwardly, taking in the broken furniture. Octavio shrugged, his head throbbing from a mixture of adrenaline and the 7VR he’d smoked.

“I’ve got your back, Sabueso. No one disrespects you in my house!” He grinned, then groaned when it hurt his nose. Fuck, this was why he couldn’t risk putting his nose ring back in. “Hey, uh, want some coffee to help sober up? I know I could use some.”

Bloodhound didn’t respond as Octavio shuffled off to the kitchen. They watched him as he brewed a pot and set out two mugs, pushing one towards them where it steamed, untouched. Octavio pulled off his mask, making a grossed-out noise when it came away slick and splatted on the counter. He sipped his coffee and closed his eyes, letting his head thud back against the kitchen wall. That was great, honestly. He was pissed at Spine for disrespecting his guest like that, Bloodhound especially, but he would never turn down the chance for a fight. Then he noticed Bloodhound wasn’t drinking their coffee.

“What, you don’t want it, comadre? I promise it will help.”

They cocked their head at him and motioned towards their mask. “I can’t really drink it, Silva. I appreciate the thought, however.”

Octavio stared at them for a minute as he took an exaggerated sip. “Hate to point this out, babe, but I’ve already seen your mouth.”

“Yes, exactly.” They answered stiffly, crossing their arms. “I had better not make a habit of it.”

Octavio rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his coffee. “Fine. Para gustos se han hecho colores. How about I go take care of this bloody nose, because this shit is gross.” It wasn’t really a question, just a statement of intention. He was halfway out the kitchen door when he stuck his head back in. “Drink your coffee while I’m gone, will you?”

He pushed open the bathroom door with his shoulder and grimaced at his reflection in the mirror. He splashed water on his face and scrubbed off the blood that was already crusted on, then rolled up some TP and shoved it up his nose, trying to get the bleeding to stop. He’d hoped to get laid tonight, but hey, a fist fight was probably better. Definitely more memorable… Bloodhound had been pretty fucking sexy taking that guy out too. After a few minutes of elevating his nose he heard Bloodhound quietly making their way down the hall towards the bathroom, coffee cup in hand. Octavio was pleased to see that it was halfway drank.

“I want to reiterate my thanks for your help.”

“Of course. Gracias for getting that guy that was choking me to let go. I mean, hey I like being choked but damn, he didn’t even ask first.”

They laughed and shrugged. “Not my most graceful takedown.”

“Hey, it was hot!” Octavio cackled. “Nothing gets me going like someone body slamming another person for me!”

They hummed quietly and he leaned his forehead against the cool tile to try and remove the flush from his cheeks. “Ah, honestly? I find the rush of a fight almost more gratifying than sex, y’know? It’s just so adrenaline inducing.”

“Sounds to me…” They answered after a moment of silence. “Like you’re not stunda kynlíf með the right people…”

“I’m not mething what?” Octavio laughed. “Naw I think I get your gist, hermosa. And you’d know would you?” He teased, wagging his eyebrows at them.

“Maybe.”

Octavio swallowed, the teasing, casual atmosphere evaporating quickly, being replaced by tension that gave him goosebumps. He was notoriously bad at misreading signals and situations, always prone to rushing in faster than the other party had intended. What could he say? He liked to move fast.

But this was Bloodhound, not some random person he met at a bar. Plus, he was coming down from a high, so he could be misreading the signs. It would be a bad fucking idea to push someone like Bloodhound, to take their signals wrong and piss them off. For once he wished his body would cool it’s jets a little as his pulse picked up and his skin flushed even more. This was not the time to be thinking with his penis.

He laughed tensely in an effort to dispel the charge in the air. “Come on baby, don’t tease. It’s a waste of both our time.” He turned around to face the mirror and pulled the TP from his nose, cursing as a few drops of blood hit the sink bowl below. Why wouldn’t this fucking nosebleed stop?

“You _do_ like to move fast…” Breathed Bloodhound, seeming closer behind him. He tensed as a gloved hand settled lightly but firmly on his waist.

Octavio’s brain short-circuited. His body seemed to know just what to do though, it had no qualms sending all his blood to his traitorous dick. Maybe that would stop his fucking nosebleed. He slowly turned around in their grip to face them, looking up slightly to meet their hidden eyes. They both stared at each other for a tense minute, then Bloodhound leaned in slightly.

“Tell me to stop, Silva.”

Stop? Why the _fuck_ would Octavio want them to stop? “No way.” He chuckled breathlessly, settling his hand over theirs, guiding their fingertips lightly over his abs. “Let’s do this.”

Their forehead was suddenly against his and their other hand was at his side, pulling him flush against them. He gasped, their hand tracing his stomach of their own accord, the rough material of the gloves dragging against his skin. They rolled their hips against his and his breath stuttered.

“Oh _fuck…_ ” He felt himself already getting hard as their fingers pulled on the induction ports on his stomach. It caused a sharp pinching pain, but they didn’t do it for long. Instead they sighed and pressed their forehead harder against his.

“Ah, krúttið mitt… You are so unique. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you would be very _very_ intriguing.” They tangled their left hand in his hair and pulled, groaning as he gave a startled cry. Octavio reached out for them, running his hands along their chest and shoulders, but they tensed and shook their head, grabbing him by the back of his thighs and lifting him up to sit on the sink.

“No, Silva.” They whispered huskily and captured both of his wrists in their left hand, pressing them back against the mirror behind him.

“O-oh, I’ll be good, amore. I’ll be good.” He whispered. They hesitated a moment, then released his wrists, pushing his shirt up so they could play with his nipples, the rough material of their gloves a stark contrast to how gently they twisted and flicked them. He knew he looked a wreck, bloody, probably broken nose, aroused as fuck, sitting on a sink in a dorm bathroom, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He wanted to touch them so bad, to feel those lithe muscles under his hands, to rip that mask off and suck on their full bottom lip, nibble it, explore their mouth with his tongue. He groaned and gripped the sink beneath him, thrusting his hips up as they rolled theirs down to meet him. Their right hand abandoned his now swollen nipples and reached down to palm him, feeling along his swollen member, rubbing against it slowly.

“Si si si por favor… _please_ …”

Bloodhound was breathing heavily as they touched him, their left hand reached out so they could drag their thumb through the blood on his lips. Octavio flicked his tongue out to catch their thumb as it went by and they groaned, pressing it against his lips and into his mouth, where he sucked. The taste of his own blood was coppery on his tongue and his eyes rolled as they reached into his pants and wrapped their fingers around him. Their thumb slipped from his mouth and they firmly gripped his throat, gently choking him as he groaned.

“O-oh Bloodhound…” He whimpered, forgetting about his hands as they flew up to grab Bloodhounds wrist. He knew if he pushed against their grip Bloodhound would let him go, but he didn’t want to. How many people had these hands killed? He thought about how they had looked, leaping on Makoa from the roof, how they had looked, body slamming Octavio’s attacker to the ground. Now their hand was wrapped around his throat, gentle, but insistent. The thought, the _danger_ , was enough to make him go hot with arousal and adrenaline.

They leaned forward, mouth against his ear as they growled. “The feeling of your little throat in my hand…” Their crackling voice was quiet in his ear, and he trembled as they continued to stroke him. “It is incredible. You are so fragile, krúttið mitt.” They growled and increased the pressure just a bit and he gasped. “That bastarður had no right to get to enjoy this feeling.”

Octavio whimpered and they released their hold a little, stroking the skin below his jaw tenderly. Their other hand had pushed his pants down to give them better access to his dick, and they were stroking it quickly now as he thrust up to meet them. Octavio’s thighs and abs were trembling, he could tell he was getting close. He knew Bloodhound could tell too: his gasps and cries had increased in frequency and raised in pitch.

“That’s it.” They whispered, left hand reaching down to squeeze and pull on his ass cheek. “Oh, Silva you are breathtaking.”

Octavio let out a sobbing breath and felt his balls tightening. So close, so close. He couldn’t stop himself, he had to feel them, had to hold them, his hands buried in the front of their coat, pulling them closer to him. They allowed him to hold them close, so he pressed his face against their neck as their speed increased.

“Oh fuck, más, _más_ Bloodhound, _please_!”

Their voicebox crackled as they groaned and they ran their hand from his ass cheek up his back and along his neck, tangling into his dark curly hair and giving it a sharp tug.

“Oh, yes, oh fuck!” He seized up and came, collapsing backwards against the mirror. Bloodhound surged forward, caging him in with their arm so he couldn’t topple sideways, other hand stroking him through his orgasm. Octavio felt boneless, taking deep gasping breaths, eyes heavy. That had been… fuck. Incredible.

Bloodhound reached around him and he distantly heard water running. He was too busy staring into their face, enamored with the details of their mask. He loosened one hand from its deathgrip on their jacket and gently felt along the cold metal curves of their goggles. They chuckled and ducked their head shyly, arm coming back around from behind him. They had a wet washcloth in their left hand, and he flinched when they reached forward and began to clean the dried blood from his face gently, then they wiped the cum from his stomach and their glove. They glanced around for a place to put the dirty washcloth and Octavio motioned absently towards the wastebin. He didn’t really feel like cleaning that. They shrugged and chucked it, then pulled his pants back up and patted his cheek.

“Thanks for the coffee.” They whispered, pulling his hand from their coat and walking out without a second glance. He sat in the sink, dumbfounded, as he heard his front door open and close.

What the _fuck_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, please comment and kudos! <3


	3. Mierda, that hurt…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Octavio struggles to feel emotions like a normal human being and makes awkward conversation with other people. His second match doesn't go as well as he hoped either, but by the end of it he feels decidedly better about where he's headed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOKAAYYYYY so I STRUGGLED with this chapter bahaha what is wrong with me
> 
> I am relatively okay with how it turned out, so hopefully it doesn't suck ^_^ Figured I should just stop fussing over it and post it. Also, it was long enough that I decided to add at least one more chapter to this if not more. It was just too much to fit into once chapter, I have a whole thing planned, soooo...
> 
> I also may have fallen in love with the rando Veterans I introduce in this chapter. We'll probably never see them again T_T
> 
> Onibi is Japanese, based on the fire spirits called... Onibi. They're essentially Will-o'-the-wisps. He wears a mix of WWII like soldier regalia and samurai stuff, with a Ronin halfmask. He uses a flamethrower. I love him :'( 
> 
> Zero basically looks like zero suit Samus and uses Zero G boots to scale walls.

_‘_ As the next few weeks passed Octavio didn’t see much of Bloodhound, not that that was surprising. Legends had their own training rooms, their own firing range, their own cafeteria… so Octavio _hadn’t_ really expected to see any of them. He still found himself wondering how they were all doing, Elliot, Makoa and Bloodhound.

_‘_ Was Bloodhound thinking about him at all? If they were, what were they thinking? He wasn’t even sure if he _wanted_ them to be thinking about him. Octavio wasn’t one to dig into his own feelings, he preferred to shove them in a dark corner and ignore them.

_‘_ After Bloodhound had left he’d been unable to wind down, instead going for a run around the dorms until the sun finished rising and sleepy heads began poking out to of windows to watch him run by. Ajay had said something about him ‘looking like shit’ that morning over breakfast and he’d just shrugged it off and laughed, poking at his scrambled eggs. He couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d said as they’d gripped his throat…

_‘…you are so fragile, krúttið mitt…’_

Fragile. They had called him fragile. Octavio snorted as he jumped over the hurdles he’d set out, running lap after lap. He hadn’t been able to stop that moment from replaying in his mind once he’d come down from his post orgasm high. It had been a few weeks already and the next match was in just a couple days, but that thought was still bothering him. Did they really consider him fragile? Frail? _Weak_? Did the other Legends think that too?

Fuck that noise. He would show them he wasn’t some flimsy blueblood. He would relish the opportunity to show them all how resilient he really was.

Ajay clambered through the obstacle course, dropping down with a sigh, wiping her forehead with the hem of her shirt. She made her way over to where he was crouched, checking his pulse.

“Ya ready for the match this weekend, Silva?”

He nodded, cracking his knuckles and grinning behind his elevation mask. “Fuck yeah, I’m sick of waiting around.” He jumped to his feet and stretched his back. “Training gets boring quick. Wish I had my dirt bike, that would keep me entertained.”

Ajay rolled her eyes. “Ya hardly _only_ been training the last few weeks. Ya lucky they haven’t kicked ya out yet with the shit you’ve pulled!”

Octavio may have been proving just how _not_ fragile he was by causing trouble almost everywhere he physically could. He’d been thrown out of a couple clubs for starting fights, may have started a food fight in the cafeteria and lost hot lunch privileges because of it, maybe he’d snuck into the Legends dorm to help Renee pierce her nose (and to try and catch a glimpse of Bloodhound while he was at it) and gotten caught by a very, very pissed Anita, he may have taken a few fans home and fucked them only to almost get robbed by one of them (that had resulted in a very interesting mostly naked run), allegedly he might have caught the laundry room on fire by setting off fireworks in the dryer...

“Business as usual.” He winked at her. “My merch is selling like crazy; they can’t kick me out.”

“Ya only won one match, Silva.” She sounded legitimately worried. He hated it… made his skin itch. “Don’t get too big for ya britches.”

“That’s why I don’t wear them.”

She threw her hands up in disgust. “Come off it will ya! Ya think you’re invincible and ya not!”

Octavio turned his back on her and began walking away. He didn’t have to listen to this, he had things to do. He’d noticed the internet cabling between dorms was pretty thick: he figured he could tightrope between buildings. Better get his go-pro.

He pretended not to hear Ajay’s furious scolding as he left the gym. He pretended the prickling on his scalp was excitement and not irritation.

It was the night before the match and Octavio couldn’t sleep, not that he’d really tried. Instead he was practicing his jabs on a punching bag, trying to perfect his sequence so he wouldn’t even have to think about it should a hand-to-hand situation arose. He needed his body to react before his mind even could. He paused a moment, panting, then felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He turned toward the sensation, staring at the dark, empty doorway.

“Uh, hola?” He took a step forward, sure someone had been watching him. “Is someone there?”

“Not there… here.” Crackled a voice from behind his shoulder.

His body did in fact respond to his training, and he jabbed without even thinking about it. Bloodhound grunted as they caught the jab with their forearms and stumbled backwards, chuckling. Once the heeby-jeebies receded Octavio began to laugh too.

“What the _fuck_ , Sabueso? You scared the shit out of me!” He threw an accusatory finger in their masked face and they batted it away casually.

“What is the point of your training if you cannot find your prey, Octane?”

Octavio snorted and crossed his arms. “Prey… You’re a menace. I’m pretty sure in this situation you weren’t the prey.”

Bloodhound hummed quietly and turned away from him to drop their duffle bag on the floor. They knelt down and pulled out some miscellaneous bands, ropes, and weights; obviously they had the same pre-game sleeplessness as Octavio. As they rifled through their bag Octavio took the opportunity to eyeball them and gather his thoughts…

Good luck with that, Octavio.

They looked good. Cozy. Oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants, gloves, running shoes and their balaclava on under their usual mask. All dark, all covered, as they always were. Octavio wondered if they’d accept an invitation to go cuddle in his room, they definitely looked cuddly in that outfit.

The look they gave him was decidedly less cuddly though. He could tell they had noticed his staring.

“Is there something I can help you with, vinur minn?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, picking at the frayed punching bag next to him. “No.” He reconsidered. “I mean, you interrupted _my_ training, so… Hey, don’t you Legends have your own gym? Why are you here anyway?”

Bloodhound began stretching. “Many of the Legends struggle to sleep the night before a match.” They explained. “That gym is typically busy. I prefer to train alone.”

Octavio glanced around the empty gym, then down at himself. “Uh, I’m here though, comadre.”

They straightened up and gave him a sideways look. “Then leave.”

Octavio watched them wander off to the other side of the room, then snorted and followed.

“Mira, I don’t have the patience to play cute.”

“Clearly.” They sounded like they were smiling.

“Did you mean it? What you said about me being, what, weak? Fragile?” He had been ruminating over this for weeks, trying to distract himself with destruction like he normally did. Guess it hadn’t stopped the thoughts from simmering somewhere unattended in his mind. “You know I’m not! I want you to take it back!”

Bloodhound just stared at him for a minute, then they made a noise between a laugh and a scoff. “That has been bothering you?”

“Of course!” Snapped Octavio.

“I was not referring to you as a whole, Silva.” They slowly explained. “You’re very…” They paused and motioned at him. “Small. It is your stature that I referred to in that moment.”

“Stature or not,” snapped Octavio, flexing his hands. Why did everyone always have to bring up his height? “I am not fragile. I don’t care why you said it, just take it back.”

Bloodhound sighed and rolled their neck. “Very well. Would you like to demonstrate to me how strong you are?” They held out a hand and motioned for him to come closer, then held it out for him to stop when he was about six feet away. “We will spar then. An honorable wrestling match between Apex félagi. Does this please you?”

Octavio nodded eagerly, his frustration from a moment ago dissipating quickly as his fingers began to tingle.

“The goal is to pin your opponent. If you are pinned, you must tap out or otherwise signal the other to your submission.”

Octavio was bouncing on his feet now. “Okay okay, let’s do this!”

Bloodhound cracked their neck and settled into a very natural stance, their hands extended in front of them, slightly cupped. Octavio had never seen that stance before… hardly even looked like they were ready for a fight. He crouched down and brought his forearms up to his head, heart pounding with excitement.

There was a breath of silence, then Bloodhound lunged forward. They grabbed him like a vice around the waist, and he could tell they intended to lift and throw him. As they closed in he grabbed the back of their pants and threw himself backward to overbalance them. They tumbled over him so added his own momentum and continued the roll, straddling them. For a half second he grinned down at them, pretty sure he’d won and enjoying the position they found themselves in.

Apparently Bloodhounds version of pinned required a bit more finality, however.

Bloodhound threw their whole body up and Octavio yelped as his knees left the ground. Their arms locked around his head as they flipped and slammed him into the ground. He tried to kick out of the death grip they had on his head, but they weren’t letting up; every time he got some traction they would forcefully slam him back down. Likewise, every time they tried to leverage him, he would hook their ankles and trip them.

It was not like the sparring he had experienced during his Judo training with Ajay. Rich parents had meant the best training that could be afforded, and though Octavio had never been much for structure or control he had enjoyed the feeling of toppling opponents much larger than him, so he put up with the stuffy Dojo long enough to learn how to do some damage. Bloodhound though seemed to like a dirty fight. The two of them wrestled on the ground for a while, getting sweaty and breathless, and eventually the ridiculousness overcame Octavio’s better senses.

He began to giggle; he hadn’t expected Bloodhound to fight like an elementary school bully. Granted, each movement was obviously practiced, but lacked the pizazz he had been prepared for. Bloodhound stilled, their mouthpiece coming to rest on his ear.

“You are laughing, Silva.” They sounded slightly breathless and confused. Octavio had planned to show them some of his better moves, maybe impress them a bit. This was better. Maybe he could convince them to wrestle on the ground with him more often.

“This isn’t what I expected you absolute bárbaro.” He smacked the mat and they released their hold, sitting back on their haunches. “You fight like I insulted your mother!”

He heard them sniff stiffly. “Lausatök is an honorable form of combat.” They crossed their arms. “You are agile and aim to bring your opponents to the ground, but Lausatök is _made_ for the ground.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised.” Octavio gave them a crooked smile, thinking back to when Bloodhound jumped on Makoa’s back and when they had tackled Octavio’s attacker the night of the party. “You have a habit of throwing yourself on people like an angry bull.”

Bloodhound jumped at him and Octavio screamed. He wondered if they realized that this just proved his point. Another short tussle and he was pinned under Bloodhounds much heavier body.

“Cheater!” He struggled. “I wasn’t prepared! _Tramposo sucio_!”

Bloodhound was laughing as they let him up, offering him their hand. Octavio took it and punched their arm.

“Laugh all you want, fucker. I’ll take you down in the arena tomorrow, just wait!”

“Is that so?” They hummed, crossing their arms across their chest. Octavio slunk closer, tipping his head back to look into their goggles. He found himself enjoying this moment… Hopefully they could be tempted to spar with him more in the future. He was a pervert, he knew it, but he liked feeling their strong lithe body struggling against his… it made his gut feel like it was full of hot coals.

“Mhmm… I’ll always keep an eye out for you, mi hermosa amigo, especially in the ring.” He reached up and ran a finger down their gas mask, thinking back to how their lips had looked that night. He wondered if they were biting them right now. He again indulged in the fantasy he’d had that night, of dragging his tongue across that full bottom lip. He felt his pulse quicken as they stared at him and he unconsciously wet his own lips, other hand stroking up their arm.

A large hand suddenly obscured his vision as Bloodhound grabbed his face and held him back. He could see between their long fingers as they shook their head at him.

“We will see what tomorrow brings, freistar. Return to your dorm and get some rest.” They shoved him back gently, so he stumbled and bumped the wall behind him.

What a mood killer. He glared at them and turned to leave. As he stormed out the door, he heard them purr lowly, stoking those coals inside him:

“You will need it.”

* * *

Octavio and his squad leapt from the dropships and left a stream of bright orange behind them as they rocketed through the sky. This was probably Octavio’s favorite part: the drop. He was with two Veterans this time, Onibi and Zero. They had survived the games before and were crazy enough to return; Octavio could respect that. They landed in Swamps; Octavio ducked and rolled, busting through a door on his way down. He could hear people running all around him.

“We have another squad on us!” Onibi called out and began firing. He quickly ducked through the door Octavio had busted open when one of them began firing back on him from a window. They looted quick, then rushed for the enemy team. The enemy team hadn’t had much luck with their equipment and were caught running… it was a sloppy firefight. Over quickly and with minimal injury to Octavio’s team; Zero and Onibi were as bloodthirsty as Octavio was and liked to move quick. He was palming through the enemy’s pockets when Zero grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him away.

“The gunfire will have attracted enemy attention, loot faster or don’t loot at all.”

Octavio wrenched himself free then nodded. “Gotcha, señora! Don’t have to tell me to move fast twice!” He jogged off after Onibi, and the three of them moved quickly and quietly towards the Hydro Dam. There were a lot of squads there, as well as many across the bridge in Repulsor. The siege lasted for most of the day, it was bloody and dirty, with squads barricading themselves in buildings and lobbing grenades. As night fell Onibi detailed a sneak attack on the last squad bunkered up in the building across from them. Once that squad was out if the way Octavio’s squad could continue their way to Repulsor.

“It has to be tonight.” Explained Onibi. “The ring is moving when the sun rises. They must be dead before then, or it will become a slaughter on the bridge.”

Zero and Octavio agreed and followed Onibi as he crept through the shadows. As they positioned themselves at each of the doors, Octavio could hear a slight hissing noise. He heard movement on the other side of the door; evidently the other squad had heard the noise as well and were going to investigate.

“Moyasu.” Whispered Onibi, and his side of the building erupted in blue flame. The squad inside fired into the wall of flame but quickly began to retreat to the other doors, coughing through the noxious black fumes. They were easy for Octavio and Zero to pick off. Onibi tossed his empty gas canister aside and replaced it with a full one, then shouldered his flamethrower and trudged after Zero and Octavio. Zero easily scaled the border wall of Repulsor with her zero g boots and took out the sentry placed there. When the sun rose and the rest of the sentry’s squad came looking for them, Octavio and Onibi ambushed them.

The circle corralled them towards Skulltown, so they crept through the Market, finding evidence of a brutal battle that took place earlier in the Match. There were only five squads left, and Octavio was feeling good about his chances of pulling off another win. His hands were shaking on his R-99 but he ignored it as Onibi crawled up the hill and surveyed Skulltown. He motioned for Zero and Octavio to come up, so they both crawled up to him, one on either side.

“We must be cautious.” Whispered Onibi. “There is very little cover from here to the buildings, a sniper could be lying in wait.”

The three of them glanced around for possible sniping points. People could be on the roofs of the buildings, on the crest of hills, or even... Octavio froze when he thought he saw movement on the skull of the long dead Beast that hovered over the town below, but as he watched, no more movement came. He got that awful prickling feeling he had when Bloodhound had crept up on him in the gym the night before.

“Um, hey, could be nothing but I thought I saw movement on the skeleton up there.” He pointed, and the two vets followed his gaze.

“Seems like it would be tough to get up there without equipment like mine.” Mused Zero, her long blond ponytail shifting in the light wind.

“Not impossible though.” Countered Onibi. He clapped a hand on Octavio’s shoulder, and Octavio turned to look at him, feeling creeped out by the grinning mask that Onibi wore. “As I said, this is a prime location for snipers. We’ll take the long way around. Use the cover and skirt the outside of the town. If there is a sniper…” He got up to his knees and shrugged. “Hopefully they haven’t seen us.”

The three of them began to skirt the town, dodging between rocks and the occasional tree. The ring was closing in, which meant any teams that had waited would now be forced to close in. It wasn’t long before some shots began ringing out and Zero pointed, a grimace on her face.

“There! Two squads are closing in!”

They stuck together, but a third squad came up behind them and they quickly became sandwiched. Octavio used a stim to dodge around his attackers, sliding with Onibi towards the cover of Skulltowns buildings.

Everyone seemed to pause for a moment when there was a feral roar from somewhere up above. Octavio glanced up and could see them staring down the sights at his squad: Bloodhound’s glass eyes were glowing red and they were trembling. His blood felt like it had turned to ice; he could barely hear Zero yelling at him to move and Oniri dragging on his arm. When he’d asked Bloodhound to call on the Allfather at the party, he had clearly meant when he was on their squad. He hadn’t even considered how it would feel to be the one hunted.

_I’m not afraid I’m not afraid_

A wild shot from the brawling squads nearby drew Octavio’s attention as it clipped Zero and caused her to tumble in the sand with a cry. Onibi let go of Octavio and twisted to go back for her.

Octavio screamed to leave her, but it was too late. A single shot from Bloodhounds Triple-Take and Onibi was facedown. Octavio sent a fervent prayer to Virgen María that Zero and Onibi would pull through, then he ran for the building and dodged inside. He was panting as he wove his way through the maze-like houses, dodging in and out, hoping to lose anyone that may be following him. He came across someone as they were trying to heal some minor wounds and took them out with a spray from his gun, then ducked into the next building and backed into a corner to reload.

He hadn’t been expecting Bloodhound to kick down the door, eyes still glowing red like a creature from Octavio’s nightmares.

“B-Bloodhound!” Octavio wasn’t sure why he was surprised to see them like this. This was a match, they were _enemies_. He grabbed for a grenade and held it out in front of him, about to pull the pin and probably blow both of them to kingdom come.

With a growl Bloodhound strode forward and smacked his hand out of the way with the butt of their Peacekeeper, the grenade skidding uselessly across the dirt floor, then leveled the gun on him and fired.

Everything went white. He thought about their smile, that crooked, toothy grin they had given him when he told shitty jokes and blew purple smoke rings for them. He thought about how it held felt, at the mercy of their hands in his bathroom that night, begging for them to give him more. He remembered how it had felt to wrap his legs around their taut body last night, to feel them twist and fight against his hold.

He distantly heard a wet, gurgling groan and figured it was the air escaping from his own destroyed lungs.

It was _agony_.

* * *

He woke up, much to his surprise. He tried to turn his body to look around and groaned, his insides feeling like they were full of needles.

“Whoa, take it easy there, sir.” A nurse came up beside him with a warm reassuring smile and a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder. “That was your first ‘death’ in the arena, huh? It can be pretty disorienting, you’re alright now though.”

Octavio tried to ask how long he had been out but only made a rough, rasping noise. The nurse grabbed a thermos of water and stuck the straw in Octavio’s mouth, lifting his head slightly. This was awful. Being in hospitals was awful. Having people help you was awful.

He motioned the nurse away and tried again. “How long was I out for, hombre?”

The nurse smiled again and sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s been about three days. Regrowing tissue can take a while, and you took quite a shot. Almost drowned in your own blood by the time we got to you. But, you’re a fan favorite, so you got some priority intervention.”

Octavio felt like puking.

“You did really well in the match too, got positive RP at least, ranked highly, had some great highlights. I heard your livestream went viral too: apparently people found it pretty cool to have a POV of staring down Bloodhounds barrel.” He laughed and shrugged. “God, they give me the creeps. Anyway, we have the match recap saved for you so you can catch up on what happened. Oh, and a few combatants have tried to visit you.” He grabbed a file on the side table and flipped it open. “…Ah, Lifeline, Zero and Onibi have stopped in to see how you were. Zero wasn’t too badly injured, just had to reattach her Achilles tendon. Onibi was a little worse off but his shield absorbed most of it. They were relieved to hear you had pulled through.” He snapped the file shut.

Octavio fell back into the pillows and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t really want any visitors. When can I get out of here?”

“Give it another day. We’ll make sure everything is in top shape and then discharge you tomorrow afternoon. Wanna watch the recap?” He held up a tablet and waved it slightly.

Octavio hesitated a moment, then snatched it and shuffled into a sitting position, better prepared for the aching in his chest from the movement.

“I’ll order you some food. How does applesauce and chicken soup sound?”

“Fine, fine. Hey, appreciate it, amigo.” Octavio answered distractedly, turning on the tablet and pressing play on the preloaded video. It was a vid that focused mostly on his squad, largely to get him caught up on what happened, what led up to his takedown, and then what happened after. He was horrified and fascinated to see that after he had ducked into the house in Skulltown Bloodhound had jumped from the skeleton and rushed in after him. He wasn’t sure how they had tracked him through the maze of buildings, but they had. They had dogged his every step, even though he hadn’t once been in their line of sight. After they’d shot him, Bloodhound had tried to back off and let the final squads fight each other, but they accidentally set off a gas trap left by Caustic, alerting him to their presence. Apparently, the rest of Bloodhounds squad had gone down early on, because when they were taken out by Caustic the squad counter was down to two. Octavio felt a metallic sick in the back of his throat as he watched Caustic beat Bloodhound practically to death. The large man shot out their knee, then pinned them down with one hand and swung with the other. Bloodhound was good at skirmishing, but with their kneecap shattered and the gas still seeping into their airways they didn’t stand much of a chance. He could hear them choking and gasping for breath in the video, even as Caustic drew his fist back for another hit. He was pretty sure he heard something crack with each hit. He almost stopped the video when Caustic dropped the seemingly lifeless Bloodhound to the ground, but he saw movement in the back behind the gas-trapper and kept watching. The horror he’d felt at Bloodhounds death lifted slightly when he saw Ajay creep up behind, even more when she managed to take Caustic down with a full clip from her Flatline and finished him with her stun sticks: the winning kill.

He remembered when they were younger, and she’d told him she was going to run away and join a band as a drummer. He wondered if she still played anymore.

When the nurse returned with his food Octavio managed a few half-hearted bites, then feigned being tired so he’d be left alone. After the nurse left, he got to his feet and searched for his clothing and equipment, finding them in a cubby beneath his bed. Getting out of the Medical Ward wasn’t too difficult, they didn’t lock the windows or anything because they didn’t take psych patients there. He shuffled sideways along the ledge carefully, feeling the wind tousle his curly brown hair, then vaulted himself over the railing of the fire-escape and took it the rest of the way down. When he made contact with the ground, he jogged his way back to the dorms. His new roommate was surprised to see him, but he made up a lie about being discharged early and locked his bedroom door in their disbelieving face. He knew they’d call Ajay on him and that she’d be pissed, but he didn’t care.

He stayed up the rest of the night playing video games and eating Cheetos.

The next day as Octavio tried to sneak his way out of the compound to attend a rally, he was not surprised to see a furious Ajay heading his way. He was however, surprised to see Renee and Elliot with her.

“Well hey, chicos!” He greeted, giving them a cocky grin. He blinked as Ajay shoved a finger in his face.

“So, ya haven’t learned anything have ya? Sneaking out of the hospital? They almost tore the place down looking for ya!”

“Aw, wish I could have seen that!” Octavio shrugged and laughed. Renee shook her head and Elliot awkwardly smirked at him.

“You really do have to let them finish up with you before you sneak out. Trust me, I hate it there too.” Renee said, her voice low and soothing. “I _really_ hate it there. But it will only get worse if you give them trouble. They want to keep you in good condition for their viewers. If they can’t trust you to stay, they’ll _make_ you stay.” She gave him a look. He didn’t like what she was insinuating.

“They’ll do what they can to make you comfortable too.” Said Elliot, throwing an arm around Octavio’s shoulder. “Ask for some movies or something. They’d probably give you your phone back too, so you could talk to your fans and stuff. That’s what I do while I’m recovering.”

Octavio shrugged. He supposed he could do that next time… but he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t try to sneak out again. Hospitals are just so… cold. He decided to expertly change the subject.

“Hey, Che, congrats on the win, hermana!” He gave her a thumbs up and wrapped an arm around Elliots waist to return the sideways hug. “That was wicked cool! I didn’t know you still had your drumsticks.”

“Yeah, point-wise Ajay is in the lead for New Bloods. She has a good shot at getting Legend this Season.” Renee gave her a small smile, which Ajay returned.

Octavio should be happy to hear that, but instead it just made him think about the fact that he _wasn’t_ in the lead. That meant he may not become a Legend, and he wasn’t okay with that. He stepped back from them and bounced on his feet, trying to redirect the mess of emotions he was feeling.

“Have you guys seen Bloodhound?”

They all stared at him for a moment, then Elliot shrugged slowly. “Y-yeah they’re at the Legends firing range. Are you going to talk to them about the tick- takedrown- um, when they shot you?”

Octavio shrugged and wrinkled his nose at Elliot. “What’s it to you.”

“Nothing, nothing!” Elliot waved his hands in front of him and gave Octavio a sheepish smile. “Just don’t expect them to be very apologetic. Hound lives for the hunt, as they say.”

“Blood for the Allfather.” Renee seemed to recite.

“Ya sure ya wanna bring it up with them, Silva? I know you two get along pretty well, but still…” She trailed off when she saw Octavio’s glaring face. She glared back. “How ya even gonna get in? Huh?”

“I can help with that.” Hummed Renee. When the other three gave her a surprised look she smiled. “Think of it as my way of saying ‘thanks’ for the piercing help. Not many would brave Williams for something like that. She almost had your ass too.”

Octavio laughed, feeling some weight roll off his shoulders at the memory. “Yeah she did! I’m too quick for her though.” He winked and Renee smirked.

“So, I’ll make a portal for you to get in. You’ll be on your own to get back out though.”

Octavio nodded happily. “Even better!”

About ten minutes later a portal suddenly appeared beside them and Renee came through it, motioning for Octavio to go ahead. “It won’t last very long, so you’d better hurry. Bloodhound is through the door on the left, they’ve probably already heard the portal and know something is up.”

Octavio grinned at the three of them and waved as he jumped through. It was a lot more fun to go through the portal this time since there weren’t any bullets waiting for him on the other side. Instead he was outside of a high walled concrete structure; apparently the firing range. He pushed open the door and snuck inside, dragging his metal feet on the dark red stones, making clouds of red dust. He’d have to buff his legs to get the dust off, ugh. He glanced up from his feet and saw Bloodhound crouched on one of the rocks with a pistol, firing at a far away target. They glanced up as he approached.

“Octane. Wraith helped you sneak into the Legends compound.” They tossed aside the gun and approached him. Their clothing and posture was relaxed, comfortable… Octavio wondered how they weren’t thinking about what had happened in the ring.

“You shot me.”

They paused a few feet from him, then cocked their head inquisitively. “Yes?”

“You didn’t even hesitate.” 

“Of course I didn’t.” They scoffed, crossing their arms. Octavio wasn’t even sure how he felt or why he’d come here. Had he expected them to feel bad? There was no reason for them to; these were the Apex games. Their ruthless nature was one of the things Octavio liked about them. He supposed he just needed to work through his thoughts.

He hated working through his thoughts.

It surprised him when Bloodhound laughed brightly, leaning in and placing a gentle hand on the side of his face. “Why do you make such a face, krúttið mitt?”

“I didn’t like it.” Octavio mumbled, leaning his face into Bloodhounds hand. They drew it away but chuckled again.

“No, none of us do. Death is an unpleasant sensation.”

Octavio thought back to the vid. “Caustic really fucked you up, huh?”

They shrugged. “I was reckless in my hunt for you.” They hummed and looked away. “I-allowed my desire to overcome my sense. By leaving my advantageous position, I gave the advantage to my enemy.” They eyed him for a moment. “Hm. It was worth it.”

“Worth it?” Octavio wrinkled his nose. “Why? You were that excited to put a hole in my chest?”

Bloodhound nodded. When Octavio laughed disbelievingly, their posture became stiff. “Yes, I wanted the honor.”

“The honor?” Octavio plopped down on the ground, sitting cross-legged on the red dirt, staring up at them.

“The honor of being the first to slay you, sætur strákur.”

Octavio rolled his eyes. “What, you have a thing for popping death cherries, chico?”

“No.” They sat down next to him. “Just yours. The first death is always memorable. I wanted it to be me. The thought of someone else getting the honor…”

Octavio laughed again. “You’re fucking stupid, you know that?”

“And you are a very crude little boy.” Sighed Bloodhound, leaning back on their elbows and staring up at the sky. Octavio noticed that their Raven was circling overhead.

“Okay, if it’s so memorable, then who was _your_ first? Who killed you the first time?”

Bloodhound was silent for a while, then they glanced sideways and poked at a rock. “I… do not remember.”

“What a bastarda!” Octavio roared, jumping on them while they weren’t looking. Bloodhound tried to shove him off but he hooked his legs around theirs and refused to budge. They eventually gave up and sighed as he grinned down at them.

“Why are you on top of me?”

Octavio winked. “Why would I _not_ be on top of you?”

They shook their head incredulously, then rested their hands on his waist over his t-shirt and rubbed his hip bones with their thumb. “Very well. I may not remember who slew me the first time in the ring but…” They ran their hands lightly up his sides, making him shiver. “I am confident you will not forget me, or that moment, hmm?”

“Definitely not.” Octavio mumbled, leaning forward, forehead to forehead with them. “It was scary as shit. You really look like a demon when you do that… thing.”

“Don’t worry. I am many things, but I am no demon.”

Octavio took a chance and carefully placed a hand on Bloodhounds chest, ready to pull away if they seemed uncomfortable. They were tense, but they kept their hands on his back as he pressed his fingers against them. When they didn’t show signs of pushing him off, he excitedly brought his other hand up too and began feeling them with relish, tracing their ribs and muscles, squeezing their shoulders and biceps.

They sighed and let their head fall back, sliding their hands back down his back and resting them on the curve of his ass, seemingly content to let him explore. He ran one of his hands along the side of their head and could feel their hair under the balaclava. He traced the shell of their ear through the cloth when he found it, and they shivered, so he leaned forward and licked it, nipping lightly. They gave a stuttering, breathy groan and rolled their hips up against his, gripping his ass more tightly.

“Hello friends!”

Octavio screamed as Bloodhound sent him flying through the air with the force of their shove. He tumbled a few times, then lifted his head to stare at the robot that was waving at them.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I surprise you?” The screen on his front made a sad face.

“Pathfinder.” Bloodhound stood somewhat awkwardly and brushed themself off, before glancing sideways at Octavio sprawled in the dirt. “Yes, you surprised us. Do not worry though, your timing was… Appreciated.”

Octavio made a face at them and by their posture he guessed they were glaring back at him.

“Oh good!” Pathfinder pumped his fist happily. “I was worried I had upset you. Hello! I don’t think I’ve met you yet!” The robot was now standing in front of Octavio, hand outstretched. “I am Pathfinder! You are Octane. Gibraltar has told me about you. He says you are a friend too!”

Octavio took his hand and was hoisted up. He tried to ignore the way his palms itched, still feeling the ghost of Bloodhounds body against them. “Yeah, okay, it’s nice to hear that Makoa is spreading the word of how awesome I am!”

Speaking of the devil, Makoa came through the door and began making his way over to them. He paused when he saw Octavio, then grinned and waved. “What are you doing here, bruddah?” He ruffled Octavio’s hair. “Don’t tell me you snuck in!”

“What else?” Snickered Octavio, grinning up at Makoa cheekily.

Bloodhound was standing off the side with their arms crossed, leaning against a large red rock. If Octavio didn’t know better, he’d guess they were sulking.

“I accidentally scared them!” Said Pathfinder, shaking his ocular head. “They were- “

“Discussing the match!” Snapped Bloodhound, suddenly standing between Octavio and Makoa, posture rigid. Octavio had to slap a hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing, and it only made it worse when Bloodhound turned towards him with a look that threatened disembowelment.

Octavio waggled his eyebrows at them and winked. “Oh yeah, discussing. Sabueso and I have _great_ discussions about… matches.”

Makoa just looked confused and glanced at Pathfinder, who shrugged animatedly. “Well, much as I’d like you to stick around, Octavio, the rest of the Legends will probably be here soon, Williams included. She likes to have ‘teambuilding’ exercises once a week.” He shrugged. “Once a soldier always a soldier. I think it really does help us all work as a team, but you shouldn’t get caught here.” He gave him an apologetic smile. “Better skedaddle, bruddah.”

“Ah, good thing I’m great at skedaddling!” Octavio did some quick side stretches, then stuck his tongue out at Bloodhound. “See you around, bella.”

He managed to sneak out of the Legends Compound without being caught, though there were a couple close calls with the guards. He felt significantly better about everything than he had before, and in the weeks leading up to the next match he got into slightly less destructive trouble, though he fantasized about ways to harass Bloodhound frequently.

If there was one thing he enjoyed, it was making them squirm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn't dreadful ( ･_･)♡
> 
> Comment and kudos if you enjoyed! Love you all!


End file.
